Mike Bogue’s “Watching the World Die: Nuclear Threat Films of 1980s!”

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The book is set up by year. After a brief introduction, each year from 1980 through 1990 gets a full chapter; with the qualifying films from each year listed. Every film gets a detailed synopsis along with some insightful background information. Bogue’s witty banter and astonishing facts act like the Bonus Features from a Criterion Collection Blu-ray. I can honestly say, I’ve never learned such interesting things about movies I’d never even heard of. I was also shocked to read that The Day After garnered ABC-TV 100 million viewers during its single airing. If ABC earned those kinds of numbers today, they’d quickly get to work on its sequel The Day After the Day After while planning the trilogy’s wrap-up – A Few Days After That. 

I hope you’ll pick up a copy of this book and see how cool it is for yourself. While the subject matter may seem dated, it has become oddly relevant again in today’s world. It’s an engaging book that brings awareness to movies in desperate need of a spotlight. And on that note, I’m gonna go and try hunting down some of those right now…

“Godzilla Minus One” is a Big Plus for 2023 Cinema!

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Last night I attended an early screening of Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One. Despite Godzilla’s recent American films and Monarch series on Apple Plus, TOHO Studios has returned to its signature IP for the first time since the acclaimed Shin Godzilla in 2016. Although I’d heard positive feedback from its Japanese debut nearly a month ago, I was ill-prepared for just how good it actually was.

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G-FEST (Godzilla Festival) 28: Last Day!

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Sunday at G-FEST 28 began with a debate on the much-maligned American Tri-Star Godzilla (1998). So prolific is this dispute among G fans that I covered a panel just like it about five years ago. This one featured moderators who were for and against the film and one split down the middle. I will say, the man defending the movie, Scrooge Jones, made this discussion really stand out. I first saw Jones walking around the dealer room shortly after we arrived and he’s not the kind of person you’re apt to forget. With ’80s rockstar hair, gold-tinted sunglasses, and a leopard print shirt unbuttoned down to his navel, he looked like a cross between Sammy Hagar and Kraven the Hunter. That being said, I can’t help but admire the guy. He’s 100% comfortable with who he is without giving a hoot whether you agree with him or if you’re snickering behind his back. This was never more apparent than last year when he apparently announced at a Godzilla vs King Kong (2021) G-FEST panel that the 1998 Godzilla film was better than Legendary’s 2014 Godzilla. It caused quite a stir on YouTube and, considering the kaiju catastrophe that ensued, his appearance at this symposium was the logical next step.

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G-FEST (Godzilla Festival) 28: Day 2!

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Day Two of G-FEST – We walked back to the Hyatt and indulged in their $25 breakfast buffet. I never minded doing it when I’ve gone Dutch with friends in the past, but that $76 bill was eye-opening. It wasn’t as good as I’d remembered it either and will have to plan better for the upcoming Flashback Weekend (also at the Hyatt). By the time we’d finished, the convention was in full swing and we took our seats in Ballroom A/B for the first panel which was on a YA Godzilla comic book. None of us were particularly interested in this topic but figured it was the best way to secure good seats for the next panel – actress Yumiko Shaku’s Q&A.

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G-FEST (Godzilla Festival) 28: Day 1!

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Last year’s G-FEST (Godzilla Festival) had the distinction of being the only one I’ve missed in the last twenty years. However, after the event’s two-year Covid hiatus. it almost felt like going again for the very first time. I should mention that although I grew up a Godzilla kid and do enjoy the movies, my sons, Alex and Luke, are the true fans. Their seemingly innate fervor for Japan’s most famous monster is what inspired me to bring them to G-FEST back when they were grade schoolers and now, at ages 25 and 19, their devotion has remained remarkably steadfast. This year, I decided to reassert our G-FEST tradition and spend a family weekend there together, this time as adult fans. 

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Bubba returns in Dark Night of the Scarecrow 2!

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It’s hard sometimes, trying to keep a secret. As far back as 2010, I’ve been writing on this blog my fandom of the 1981 made-for-television movie Dark Night of the Scarecrow. That original post caught the attention of the film’s writer, J.D. Feigelson, who reached out and encouraged me to meet him and members of the cast, including the late Larry Drake, in Louisville’s Fright Night Film Fest. J.D. and I stayed in touch and would go on to share my fervor for DNOTS in Scary Monsters Magazine and the book “Hidden Horror: A Celebration of 101 Underrated and Overlooked Fright Flicks.” A few years later, J.D. invited me out to dinner during a visit to Chicago – and it was there that he dropped a bombshell. He revealed that he was secretly working on a sequel to DNOTS utilizing his own resources and local talent. Obviously, I could say nothing about it, but in the years that followed, he graciously kept me in the loop regarding its progress. Whenever I visited J.D. at his home down in Louisville, he’d proudly share his footage as well as the incredible props he created in his spare time. And finally, today, the fruit of his labor is available on Blu-ray and streaming. But before I saw a single frame of the movie, he revealed its basic story.

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